Clouds of Tyranny

by J. R. Pond

  “This is a room I haven’t seen yet,” said Terra looking around from inside the armory as Locke and Pearl rummaged through various objects that lay on the shelves and hung from the walls; swords, knives, staves, spears, shields, armor, ammunition, and guns of all types. To the very back of the armory Terra saw a barred cage that was most likely for prisoners, though it did not house anyone at this time. Inside the cage was a hole in the ground that was used as a lavatory, a tub of water used as a sink, and a metal bench used as a seat or a bed. “Terra?” said Locke going through a box of various pistols. Terra turned around suddenly, “Huh?” “Here,” said Locke handing her a silver .45 caliber pistol that matched her other one complete with holster for her other hip and four more magazines. “Thanks,” said Terra attaching the guns in a crisscross fashion to her waist and pocketing the magazines, which now gave her a grand total of seven clips of ammo for Harmon; two being housed inside her pistols. “Let’s see what else we got here,” said Locke exploring about the shelves, “Ah, put this on Terra.” Locke threw Terra a Teflon vest to wear and then picked up on one himself and threw a third one to Ruthie; Terra banged on the vest and noticed that beneath the lining was a hard metal plate for stopping bullets. Ruthie handed it to Pearl, “It’ll just slow me down,” said Ruthie being rebellious of Locke. “Sam!” said Locke throwing a small box at him, “Last box of mags.” Sam removed eight of the bullets from the box and put the box into his back pocket and inserted the eight bullets into his Magnum revolver and placed it back in it’s holster which lay a few inches below his left armpit. “How are you on arrows?” asked Pearl looking at Ray. Ray gave her a bizarre look and opened his trench coat, which had what looked like an endless supply. “Eve?” asked Pearl. “I’m fine,” answered Eve putting two fists up. Since the Returner’s were all outfitted, now it was time for the soldiers to get prepped. Locke walked to the doorway and peeked his head out the door, “Okay! When it’s your turn at the door, you specify what you are comfortable with; sword, pistol, crossbow, etcetera etcetera!” When Locke went back inside he saw that Alex was helping herself to a large rectangular shield and began tying it to her back. One by one the soldiers from the four Returner locations walked up to the door and requested their choice weapons.

  The Returners changed into their outfits and t=retrieved their weapons before joining the soldiers in the dining area. Smith watched his Returners walk out, all of which were ready for a battle that could make or break their cause. There was Locke, his number one, wearing his bandana, bulletproof vest, cargo pants, and his ‘knife boots’; the knife boots had small blades that retracted in and out of the toe. On Locke’s body were over a dozen throwing daggers that lay on his thigh, in his belt buckle, buried in his vest, and one in his shoe and his Damascus hung from his left hip. Terra was forced to leave her skirt behind and was wearing camouflage cargo pants with her two .45’s attached to them, a black tank underneath her vest, the bandana on her hand to prevent further injury, and her hair tied up in a ponytail. Ruthie was with Terra wearing her outfit that she wore in the Retriever’s swamp; she always wore this on missions. Ruthie wore her black fighting gloves with retractable spikes and blue bandana tied in a helmet fashion over her hair. Pearl was outfitted with thick jeans, a sleeveless black shirt, leather fingerless gloves to protect herself from her own weapon, and her blue bandana tied around her left bicep. Eve wore her bandana around the belt loop of her daisy duke jean shorts as well as a tight blue T-shirt with her large knife at her side; it was half razor and half serrated blade. Ray didn’t change a thing about his appearance with the exception of his bandana that he tied much like Locke, in a stripe fashion on his forehead. Ray had his armbow filled with arrows and the sword he bought in Velxeer hung on his right hip considering Ray’s a southpaw. Julius did what all his men did, using their skin color to their advantage; all of them wearing black clothing to match their flesh. Julius wore black jeans, a black long sleeved shirt, and his bandana tied in a bow on his lower back around his belt. Julius’ weapon of choice is a double-barreled shotgun, that he carried due to its size, and a 9mm Beretta that sit snuggly in the front of his pants. Sam, a simple family man, didn’t bother to change since he had gotten to HQ. Alex wore her cargo pants, white mesh top under the vest that had been provided, the shield tied diagonally to her back, her dragon’s blade on her back, typical military boots, and her newly acquired bandana was being used as a tie for her hair that was up in a ball behind her head. Clyde looked ready to go, he craved battle after being out of commission for the last couple weeks. Clyde wore black slacks, a red tank top that showed off every single ripple of his muscular torso, and his blue bandana tied to his right knee.

  Everyone going to Harmon was in the dining area awaiting instruction from Smith; Locke had Terra to his right and Alex to his left. “Psst!” whispered Terra trying to get Locke’s attention. He turned his head slowly to look at her as she pointed her finger at a steak knife lying on the table several feet from them with her left hand. She opened her right palm and the knife zoomed ten feet and landed in her hand without incident. “Huh!” said Terra sounding accomplished. “Good work,” whispered Locke back at her, “Listen, stay close to me okay?” Terra looked at him intently, “Sure.” Locke looked forward and Terra looked over at Alex who had undoubtedly been glaring at her the whole time. Ooh! Someone’s jealous, thought Terra laughing to herself. Everyone got completely silent when Smith walked to the center of the room. He stood there silent for a moment thinking of what to say, then pointed to Locke with an open hand, “These are YOUR men.” Locke nodded and stepped onto the table ahead of him and looked about the room and saw every single person looking to him for some encouraging words; the Returners looked ready, but the soldiers looked scared and nervous. “You all know both possible outcomes of this fight. Retreating is not one of them, I will sacrifice my life for our cause and I expect nothing less from all of you. We will be outnumbered, yes! They have training that we do not possess, but we do have something they could never begin to understand: hope. Know this! We will not falter, we will not fail. The forces of evil will not win. We’ll strike them down where they stand and refuse to quit till every single imperial is dead. Harmon needs you! We all want peace and the only way to achieve peace is to fill your heart with hate! The empire doesn’t want to take your lives; they want to take your home, your morality, and your faith in the right to do good. And we can’t let them…for if we do…they win! The only thing we can do is prevail and create a new era of GOOD!” Locke threw his fist into the air and everyone in the room did the same and cheered for Locke as he jumped off the table. Locke was nearly tackled by Sandy, the little girl that called her uncle since she had no family. “Uncle Locke, be careful and come back,” she said sadly. Locke kneeled down to her level, “I will. ”Some of the soldiers grabbed the bags full of food and blankets and Locke led everyone into the tunnel leading to Harmon; they’d be in Harmon in six hours.

  Locke and Pearl led the pack across the plains while the other Returners handled the rear so as to ensure there were no stragglers. Ruthie and Terra were engaged in conversation as Alex walked quietly as to get herself in the right frame of mind for battle. “I hope he’s okay,” said Terra referring to Lars who was in Harmon making preparations and hiding the meek civilians underground. “He’s fine, Ter,” said Ruthie reassuringly, “He may be skinny and sweet, but he can handle himself.” “Yeah, your probably right,” said Terra nodding her head up and down. “You really like him, don’t you?” asked Alex. Terra was surprised at Alex’s willingness to talk to her after what had transpired since they met. “Yeah, he’s nice and he’s caring and he’s a good kisser,” answered Terra. Terra swallowed her jealousy for a moment and asked, “What about you and Locke?” Ruthie smiled at Terra for her attempt to be civil. “It’s…complicated,” sighed Alex, “I haven’t a clue at how he feels about me, but I am falling for him. I try to stop myself but I cant.” “Locke’s a strange animal,” said Ruthie sighing, �
�One minute he’s in love, the next he’s trying to get rid of you. That’s just the way he is in relationships ever since Alisa died.” Jillian turned her head around as she walked forward, “I don’t know what I’d do if my love died.” “It’s happened to me before when I was in my late teens,” explained Alex, “You feel lost even though you know where you are. You blame yourself for what is not your fault. You try to smile but your lips wont curve.” Jillian’s lips tightened at the depressing thought, “I’m so sorry Alex.” “Thanks.” “That’s enough, Ten!” yelled Reuben from the front of the Velxeer group which was in order of ascending number. “Apologies, sir!” said Ten sulking. “Give her a break!” yelled Alex in his direction, “Is it against the law to be human in your country?”

  “Keep it down back there!” yelled Locke referring to everyone, then looked at Pearl who was leading the group alongside him. “You’re a real ass, you know that,” said Pearl scoffing at Locke. “What?” “You heard me. She says the ‘three little words’ and you don’t say anything? You just ignore someone’s feeling? Is that how you work now?” Locke hung his head, “I just didn’t know what to say. What can I say? ‘I enjoy having sex with you, but I don’t want to spend forever with you’?” “At least then, she wouldn’t be confused. Women, no matter how strong, are still women and they need closure, compassion, and sensitivity.” “Yeah, I know. But, I don’t wanna hurt her.” “Better to hurt her feelings than kill her identity. Right now she’s blaming herself. She thinks it’s who she is that you don’t love or she’s not pretty enough.” Locke glared at Pearl, “How the hell do you know that?” Pearl shook her head, “Because I’m a woman and I can see it in her eyes.”

  They reached the halfway mark as the moon disappeared behind the mountains behind them draping a blanket of darkness over their heads. “Commander Locke,” said a jar-headed boy walking behind Locke. “What is it?” asked Locke looking behind him at the boy. The boy pointed to his right,” Movement to the south.” Locke and Pearl both threw up their fists to halt the group’s movement. “Are we late?” asked Pearl trying to see through the darkness. “No, too small for an imperial threat. A dozen, maybe more,” answered Locke. “Pan’dier?” “Seems like it.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alex running towards the small group of people hundreds of yards away. She stood there talking with them for a brief moment, then commenced to walk towards Locke and Pearl. “Locke, these men are from Pan’dier. Fifteen in all,” said Alex as they approached him. Locke looked at the fifteen men with .38 caliber bolt-action rifles draped over their shoulders, “Who’s in charge?” “You are,” said one of the men. “She is,” said Locke pointing to Alex who was responsible for acquiring their assistance. Alex positioned the fifteen gunners within the middle of the soldiers, then took her place at the rear.

  The black night began to fade to a dark blue as they progressively got closer and closer to their destination. “How long you think?” asked Pearl inquiring about the distance left till they would reach Harmon. “We will reach the hill overlooking Harmon in about an hour, so ninety minutes. Be ready for the Lizarros.” Pearl smirked, “Guess again. We took care of them a few weeks ago.” “Oh, good.” Ray and Eve walked alongside Sam and Reuben near the middle of the traveling soldiers. “Are we there yet?” asked Ray sarcastically. “Funny,” smiled Eve. “Great,” said Sam, “Feels like vacation with my daughter. Yakkity yak yak.” Ray winked at Eve and began pushing his finger into her arm. “Daaaaad! Ray won’t stop poking me!” joked Eve mimicking a little kid’s voice. “Don’t make me come back there!” said Sam playing along. “Do you people think this is a game?” said a fed up Reuben. “Apparently, happiness is against your nation’s laws as well,” said Terra joining in on the ‘we hate Reuben’ club. “We are going into battle! Now is the time for concentration!” “I agree, sir,” chimed in a Velxeer archer trying to gain bonus points with his commanding officer. “Hey Three!” said Ray trying to get Three’s attention. Three looked at Ray who was rubbing the tip of his nose with his index finger, “Got a little something right here.” Three gave him an angry look and pointed his face forward. Julius choked on his own laughter as he turned his head to look at Ray who was four people behind him, then saw something strange at the end of the line; Ruthie riding on Clyde’s back. “Damn!” said Clyde faking a strain, “You need to lose some weight.” “Look who’s talking, fatty,” laughed Ruthie tapping the top of his head with her palm. “It’s called muscle,” argued Clyde. “I don’t agree with that,” said the Doc walking alongside his two nurses. “You’re calling me fat now?” asked Clyde angrily. “No, I don’t agree with her on your back like that. You’re still healing,” explained the doctor. Ruthie looked over at the Doc realizing that what he was saying was right on the money and began to get off of him. “It’s fine Ruthie,” said Clyde shrugging off the doctor’s advice and grabbing her legs so she felt safe.

  An hour passed as they approached the hill just before Harmon. Alex saluted a decomposing Lizarro as they passed it. “Your handy work?” asked Ruthie looking down from Clyde’s shoulders. Alex nodded a confirming ‘yes’, “Piece of cake.” Locke halted the line and ran quickly up to the peak of the hill to look at Harmon’s situation. He crept slowly up the hill and looked over the top to see an abandoned Harmon and Lars hammering the wooden wall that surrounded the town. Locke waved everyone towards him as they followed his lead and saw the quickly approaching town as the sun slowly peaked up from the east.

  They entered Harmon through the side entrance on the west side of town where Lars was building traps. “How are things?” asked Pearl. “Hey, glad you guys made it,” said Lars looking down at them from atop the twelve foot wall, “Townspeople are safely tucked away. Explosives set on the north entrance and got a few traps set up here.” “Sounds good,” said Locke looking around the dark town. “Pan’dier,” yelled Alex pointed to the inn in the north part, “Follow me to the roof.” The gunners from Pan’dier walked up to the front of the group where Alex was now positioned next to Locke. Before leading them into the inn that would give them roof access she looked at Locke intently, not knowing what to say. Locke stared back at her wanting to say something, but couldn’t. To the right of the inn was a small store that sold sundries. “Doc,” yelled Locke as he looked at the shop. The Doc and his two nurses, Bridget and Helena, walked up to the front where Locke was. “In there,” said Locke pointing to the shop. “Right!” said the doctor walking toward the shop followed by his nurses; they needed to be protected till the fighting ceased. “Alright, I want three on the inside with the Doc and two guarding the door on the outside,” said Locke counting out the ones to go. The young soldiers jogged over to the shop and positioned themselves. Locke looked to the southeast part of town where a bunch of residential building stood, “Captain Antleon, up there?” Reuben looked to where Locke was referring to, “Perfect. I’ll position my men.” Reuben nodded at Locke and led his archers to the residential area where they commenced to climb the rain gutters to the top of the buildings and positioned themselves facing the main entrance on the south side of Harmon. Locke divided the remaining soldiers into three groups and sent one group to the rear entrance in the north side of town with Ray, Clyde, and Sam, one group to stay at the side entrance with Lars, Pearl, and Julius, and one group to take with him to the main entrance on the south edge of town along with Ruthie, Eve, and Terra.

  When Locke’s team made it to the main entrance Locke positioned his soldiers in various spots that would be unseen by the imperial soldiers such as in the tree that lay in the center of the courtyard, along the wall, behind the gate of the entrance, and behind bushes. “Okay, here’s the plan,” started Locke, “They walk in and we come down on them with a surprise attack consisting of Ruthie, Terra, Eve, and myself; soldiers don’t move. Then they open fire, we take cover, and the archers take more of them, then you soldiers spring into action only when I give the word.” They all nodded as the soldiers began hiding in their spots. Locke looked at R
uthie, “I’ll be right back.” Locke walked toward the alleyway in the southwest corner of town that connected to the various shops to look for the Retriever, who should have arrived already. “Retriever,” called out Locke silently as he walked through the alley, “Retriever?” He heard and saw nothing and looked back the way he came and saw smoke coming from the mountain tops, “Shit!” Locke ran back to his team, “It’s time! Terra, fire a shot into the air.” Terra pointed her gun to the heavens and shot a single bullet alerting the other teams of the threat that now approached them.

  “They’ll be here shortly,” said Clyde, “Don’t go past where I am standing or the blast will get you. Engage after you see five blasts come up from the ground.” “As soon as the fifth one goes off, run through the smoke as it will provide cover,” said Ray. “Very good,” said Sam getting into the right mindset for the battle.

  “I have a series of traps,” said Lars explaining his plan to his team, “Stay clear of the doorway, as long as we stay on this side of the wall, you’ll all be okay. Let them come to you. I will signal to the shooters for the first wave of their attack.” Pearl nodded her head, “And take no prisoners!”

  Alex had her gunners positioned on the roof that was of a triangle shape with each side at a forty-five degree angle; they were lying on their stomachs on the side that was inside the walls as not to be seen by the soon coming imperials. “Okay, when Pearl gives the word you fire. Don’t be quick…be accurate…headshots or the heart. Make sure you all prioritize, the ones with firearms die first. Let our soldiers handle the imperials carrying melee weapons.”